New Light
by Skye
Summary: Layla plays welcoming party to a new girl at Alfea. Layla/Elyon


_Notes: An idea I've had for a while about how the two series would cross. Musa/Layla and Cornelia/Elyon references. Assumes that since Layla started a year later than the others, she will end a year later._

**New Light**

Layla had thought she had known why Francis had pushed her to do this. Her roommate was afraid that now that Layla's five friends known as the "Winx Club" had left the school, she would fall into a brooding depression and isolation. Which she wouldn't, of course, Layla couldn't imagine how she could _stay_ isolated in this campus full of people. But she had agreed to join the "Welcoming Club," as life without the other club left her without much to do. Plus Layla also knew what it was like to be the new student, coming from a different realm.

Then, seeing her assignment on paper, Layla realized that Francis might have had a different motivation. She was to be the welcoming party to _Queen _Elyon of Meridian, yes, a queen, not a princess. When a queen could find time to go to school or why she'd want to go to school when she was already the ruler of her realm, Layla didn't know, but she was likely expecting a very royal treatment. Layla sighed as she walked over to where she'd meet the young monarch.

She waited only a little while before a plainly dressed blonde girl in braids walked up to her. "Um, hi," she said tentatively.

"Are you lost or something?" Layla asked inattentively, keeping an eye out for where the queen could be.

"Well... I just wondered, are you Layla? I've kind of been looking for her."

"Yeah," Layla confirmed, a little curious. "What's up?"

"Um, I heard you'd be the one to help me around campus," the girl said, unsure.

"Elyon?" Layla realized. "Um, I mean, Queen Elyon, your majesty, I didn't realize it was you. I would be happy to help you," Layla spoke quickly, thinking she sounded ridiculous, but not above humility.

Layla didn't expect what happened next, the muffled giggles coming from Elyon's direction. "You don't have to be so formal. I'd actually rather you didn't," Elyon said, still with a smile.

"Oh-"

"I mean, I know there's a lot of royalty here, but they don't talk like that to each other, do they?"

"No, not really," Layla said, feeling kind of embarrassed. "I just thought since you were a queen, you'd want to be treated differently."

"No way, I don't want to stand out," Elyon insisted. "Hey, I heard that even you were a princess. At least that's what Francis told me."

"You met Francis?"

"Sure, when I came to visit Alfea before."

"Huh," Layla said, realizing her second guess for Francis's reasoning was likely wrong, as she must already know how pleasantly normal Elyon was. "Yeah, I'm the Princess of Tides. But, it doesn't really matter who you are here, you're going to love it," Layla promised. Layla grabbed Elyon by the arm, pulling her around campus, explaining what each building was while trying to seem normal, hoping she'd made up for the initial awkwardness.

After a while of wandering around, the two finally sat in the Cafeteria for lunch. Elyon chose a spot directly across from Layla, sweetly smiling at her through the meal.

Layla suddenly found herself staring at Elyon. Despite her initial impression of plainness, Elyon was actually quite beautiful, her gorgeous blue eyes seeming to sparkle over towards Layla. Maybe she was crushing on her, attaching herself to her senior in more than a friendly way. Now that Layla thought about it, Elyon had been a little affectionate with her, patting her shoulder, picking lint off of her shirt, and even now not taking her eyes off her.

Layla pushed the thought out of her mind before she could decide if she might like that or not, as it was inappropriate at best, and now began thinking of Elyon's other oddities. She really didn't seem "royal," especially for a queen. It wasn't just the commoner's clothing, it was her mannerisms. Elyon seemed fidgety, hesitant. Even with her internally low self esteem, Layla knew how to put up a good front, seeming confident at nearly all times. Elyon on the other hand-

"If you don't mind me asking, I've just been curious about something," Layla began.

"Well, sure," Elyon said, still showing that hesitancy.

"Most of us are here, knowing that we'll rule our kingdoms one day. But you, you're already ruling your kingdom. So why bother coming here? And when can you even find the time?"

"I will need to go back more than most of you, I've already made arrangements for that. But, well, I just kind of need to come here. I mean, I didn't grow up in Meridian. I'm learning a lot about there from just being there, but other realms? And controlling my magic? It was suggested that I come here to learn about that, and I decided it was probably a good idea," Elyon explained quickly.

Layla raised an eyebrow. "You didn't grow up in the place you're ruling now?"

"Yeah, long story."

"Where did you grow up?"

"On Earth. You might not have heard of it, but-"

"Earth?!" Layla interrupted. Of course she'd heard of it, she'd even been there. Elyon's story was starting to sound a lot like Bloom's, and her manner was starting to make a lot more sense.

"Yeah. I haven't really been back there since, though."

Though, there were still a lot of differences. "Why not?" Layla asked. She could imagine that, like Bloom did, Elyon might still want to visit Earth.

"I went to school there for a while, but I'm busy now, and even though I still have friends there, it kind of hurts to see them. Well, maybe just one person. I'm happy for her and all, but it's just... I'd prefer to be the one making her happy," Elyon said, then put her head down, realizing she'd said too much.

"Were you in love with her?" Layla asked, not wanting to pry, but honestly curious.

"Well, kind of," Elyon said. "For a long time, but I'm over it now."

Layla now realized Francis's true motivation for getting her to join this silly club. She was playing matchmaker again. Layla remembered her prying, _"Come on Layla, you have to have a type!"_

_"Fine. Musa, the gorgeous and unreachable," Layla had replied._

_"Pretty? Could you fall for someone even if they weren't pretty?" Francis had questioned further._

_"Musa _is_ pretty," Layla had said in return._

_"Come on, think beyond her already, Layla. Say there was no Musa. What kind of person would you fall for?"_

_"I guess what I'd really like is someone who knows what it's like to be a royal, but isn't all caught up and ruined by everything that goes with it," Layla had explained._

At the time, Layla had thought that Musa would be the only one who could fit that description, but in front her was person fitting the description, as if custom ordered. Layla had almost been considering that kind of thing earlier, and now she found out that it was Francis had in mind all along. That girl...

"Layla, are you okay?" Elyon asked, concern evident on her face. "I didn't mean to be weird, can you just forget I said anything about that?" she requested, face downcast.

"No, no," Layla assured. "It's okay. I was just thinking about how almost the same thing happened to me. Being in love with a friend, I mean. A female friend. It's painful to remember. But don't think it's anything to do with you."

The worry disappeared from Elyon's face, replaced again by her catching smile. "I'm starting to see what Francis meant when she said we had a lot in common."

As much as Layla didn't want to go along with one of Francis's silly plans, now that she really thought about it, this idea wasn't so bad. Elyon was surely pretty, and had an innocent charm. Not to jump into anything, especially considering previous experience, but Layla could see that this might lead somewhere. Layla nodded in Elyon's direction. "Now, where do you want me to show you next?"


End file.
